Goodreads Summary: A thoroughly delicious picture book about the funniest “food fight!” ever! Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast have a beautiful friendship—until they discover that there’s ONLY ONE DROP of maple syrup left. Off they go, racing past the Orange Juice Fountain, skiing through Sauerkraut Peak, and reeling down the linguini. But who will enjoy the sweet taste of victory? And could working together be better than tearing each other apart? The action-packed rhyme makes for an adrenaline-filled breakfast . . . even without a drop of coffee!

About the Author: Josh Funk grew up in New England and studied Computer Science in school. Today, he still lives in New England and when not writing Java code or Python scripts, he drinks Java coffee and writes picture book manuscripts alongside his wife, children, and assorted pets & monsters.

Josh is a board member of The Writers’ Loft in Sherborn, MA and the co-coordinator of the 2016 and 2017 New England Regional SCBWI Conferences.

Josh is terrible at writing bios, so please help fill in the blanks. Josh enjoys _______ during ________ and has always loved __________. He has played ____________ since age __ and his biggest fear in life is being eaten by a __________.

Kellee’s Review:This book is a humorous, epic adventure through the dangers of the refrigerator. The mix of the well-rhymed text and highly comical and colorful artwork really brings the story to life. I found myself laughing out loud as dressings, beans, jam, and more challenge Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast as they challenge each other to be the first to the syrup. The way that the different foods in the fridge play a part in the story are so clever! I also found myself reading parts of the book out loud to hear the rhyme and rhythm. Josh really did a great job and included rhymes that I would have never thought of like conversed/first, meanie/linguini, and ranch/avalanche. This is definitely a text that is made to be read aloud and shared with children who will laugh and cheer and *gasp* at the twist (did I mention there was a twist?!).

Ricki’s Review:I have been anticipating this book for the past year and have spent quite a bit of time contemplating whether I will be Team Lady Pancake or Team Sir French Toast. When the book arrived in the mail, I shrieked with glee and told my son we had a treat for bedtime. That night, I cracked the crisp cover and smoothed my hands over the pages. I was immediately taken by the gorgeous artwork. I could see my son’s eyes darting from character to character. He has a short attention span, and this book held his interest from cover to cover. Meanwhile, as he looked at the artwork, I lingered on each page and became enveloped in the comical story. Above all, I was blown away by the engaging writing. The first time I read a picture book, I often stumble over the words. It usually takes a few readings to read a book aloud at a steady pace. But the words and phrases flowed beautifully in this book. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times the author revised in order to get the language just right. This book will be a crowd-pleaser in the classroom. I highly recommend it as a read-aloud.

Teachers could start by using this book as a mentor text to teach personification in writing. The text is so cleverly crafted that students will be itching to create their own stories. We think it would be very fun for elementary school students to pair up and write their own adventures for Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast. This seems like the next popular duo in children’s literature, and we demand a companion text, Josh Funk!

Discussion Questions: How does the author use rhyme to engage readers in the story? How does the illustrator depict the characters in a fun, eye-appealing way?; How does the author infuse humor to teach a good lesson? What is the theme of the story?; Are Team Lady Pancake or Team French Toast? How did you make this decision? Which team do you think the author is on, and why?

Book Trailer:

Read This If You Loved: Ballet Cat by Bob Shea, This is a Moose by Richard T. Morris, Tommy Can’t Stop by Tim Federle

[…] work well with the first book and also stand alone. Teachers, if you don’t have this book or Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, I recommend them highly for your classrooms. Parents, this one is a no-brainer. I will cross my […]

[…] Ricki’s Review: I have been anticipating this book for the past year and have spent quite a bit of time contemplating whether I will be Team Lady Pancake or Team Sir French Toast. When the book arrived in the mail, I shrieked with glee and told my son we had a treat for bedtime. That night, I cracked the crisp cover and smoothed my hands over the pages. I was immediately taken by the gorgeous artwork. I could see my son’s eyes darting from character to character. He has a short attention span, and this book held his interest from cover to cover. Meanwhile, as he looked at the artwork, I lingered on each page and became enveloped in the comical story. Above all, I was blown away by the engaging writing. The first time I read a picture book, I often stumble over the words. It usually takes a few readings to read a book aloud at a steady pace. But the words and phrases flowed beautifully in this book. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times the author revised in order to get the language just right. This book will be a crowd-pleaser in the classroom. I highly recommend it as a read-aloud.The rest of our review with teachers’ tools, discussion questions, etc. can be found here. […]

[…] If You Loved: It’s Not Jack and the Beanstalk by Josh Funk; Dear Dragon by Josh Funk; Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast by Josh Funk; Whose Story is This, Anyway? by Mike Flaherty; Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and […]